So, what's an Author Ambush? An Author Ambush is our variation on a guest post. What's special about it? We pose it like the author takes over the site for the day, and therefore, absolutely ANYTHING goes! :) We've had a little bit of everything over the years - character interviews, inspiration posts, exclusive excerpts, top 10 lists, playlist breakdowns, random posts about bacon (seriously!) and more. So, take a peek and see what our most recent V.I.Ps had to say when they ambushed the site:

Welcome
to the SMOKE AND FIRE Blog Tour!

To
celebrate the release of SMOKE AND FIRE and the season of Spring, there is also a DRAGON EGG HUNT goingon
throughout the tour! Exciting, right? Certain stops throughout the tour will
have something special to share with you which will provide you with an extra
entry for the giveaway. Just like a traditional egg hunt, you're going to have
to search for these items/information!! Find out more information about the
Dragon Egg Hunt at the bottom of the post!

She wanted to touch him. There had always been something about
being in his arms that made her feel as if she could tackle anything and the
world wouldn’t dare get in her way…

SWORN
TO PROTECT

A
dragon shapeshifter and a computer mastermind, Ryder is sent to guard Glasgow
after a devastating Dark attack. But when memories of an explosive affair come
back to him-in the flesh-Ryder cannot help but want to protect the woman who
haunts his dreams. Even if means shifting into the dragon he was never supposed
to reveal…

DRIVEN
TO DESIRE

Kinsey
could never get enough of Ryder. His every touch only left her wanting more.
But now that she’s seen him in his true form, Kinsey’s world is rocked to the
core. She knows that to stay-and feel-alive, she must be with Ryder. But is
Kinsey’s passion worth the risk of danger that comes with being a part of
Ryder’s dark and fierce world?

SMOKE AND FIRE Excerpt

Ryder sat back and blew out a
breath, feeling a flutter of nerves. He laced his fingers behind his head and
only realized then that Dmitri was still in the room. He slid his gaze to
Dmitri.

“What are you up to?” Dmitri
asked. “You know that lass. I could see it on your face. If you have Tristan
bring her up here, you’ll feel Con’s wrath.”

Ryder dropped his hands to the
arms of his chair. “That occurs all the time, and I do know Kinsey. I’m no’ yet
sure why she’s here. But I aim to find out.”

“Meaning?” Dmitri urged.

“We were lovers three years ago.
Until I realized that I’d fallen in love with her. I didna want anyone to know
that our spell preventing us from feeling deeply for humans no longer worked
with me.”

Dmitri leaned forward, his brow
furrowed deeply. “That was around the time Hal fell in love with Cassie.”

“Cassie arrived at Dreagan right
after I returned from Glasgow.”

“All right,” Dmitri said as he
rubbed his jaw. “So you fell in love before Hal. No’ a big deal.”

Ryder lifted one shoulder in a
shrug. “I suppose no’. No’ compared to her seeing me in dragon form a few weeks
ago when I was in Glasgow to protect the city from the Dark invasion.”

“Oh, fuck.”

Anger crackled through him every
time he thought about how close Kinsey came to dying that night. If Ryder
hadn’t been there, she would’ve been taken by the Dark, her soul drained.
“There was a Dark after her. I shifted into human form to help her.
Unfortunately, she saw it all.”

“And?” Dmitri pressed with a
brown brow raised.

Ryder looked at the screens,
following Kinsey from one to the other as Tristan walked her to the manor.
“I’ve never seen anyone so terrified before.”

“Of the Dark?”

Ryder wished. That night still
haunted him. No matter how many times he thought over what happened, there
hadn’t been another way to save her. “Of me. I can still hear her scream before
she ran away.”

“So she doesna know you’re here?”

“I doona believe so. She’d rather
walk through the fires of Hell than be anywhere near me.”

Dmitri sat there for a moment
before he gave a slow shake of his head. “You’re having Tristan bring her to
you, are you no’?”

“I am.”

“That . . . could be a bad move.”

“It probably is.” In more ways
than one.

Make sure to check out the rest of the series (click the image for more information).

AUTHOR AMBUSH GUEST POST:

The many styles of Rhi...

Because a Fae always dresses up, even if she is going to a friend's house.

Flirty, and fun. Rhi to a T!

A Fae must have the perfect dress for all those parties at the Light Palace where she's expected to attend.

Perfect for strolling the streets of Italy on a moonlit night.

This is what she'd wear to do battle, because, well, she's Rhi. :D

I mentioned earlier in the post that there is a DRAGON EGG HUNT going on throughout the tour. There are 9 "Dragon Eggs" (i.e. Blog Tour Stops) throughout the blog tour. Each representing one of the books in the

series! The fun part is that, like a regular egg hunt, you'll have to find these special stops and then FIND the "Dragon Egg". The "Dragon Egg" is actually information within the site. Yup, site. ;) You'll have to visit each tour host, each day to see if they have a Dragon Egg for you to find. The Rafflecopter widget will provide you with the hint. The hint will be a questions or it will ask you for specific information. The DRAGON EGG HUNT is a fun and interactive activity that will provide you, the reader with some insightful information about the

series. Find the tour stops and giveaway info on the Enchantress Design & Promo site HERE.

Donna Grant is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the sizzling Dark King series featuring dragons, immortal Highlanders, and the Fae.

She was born and raised in Texas but loves to travel. Her adventures have taken her throughout the United States as well as to Jamaica, Mexico, and Scotland. Growing up on the Texas/Louisiana border, Donna’s Cajun side of the family taught her the “spicy” side of life while her Texas roots gave her two-steppin’ and bareback riding.

Despite deadlines and voracious reading, Donna still manages to keep up with her two children, four cats, and one long haired Chihuahua.

I’m here today to promote and celebrate the new book of the SKINWALKER/JANE YELLOWROCK series by Faith Hunter.

New York Times bestselling author Faith Hunter writes dark urban fantasy and paranormal thrillers, including the SKINWALKER series featuring Jane Yellowrock, and the series. series, featuring rogue-vampire hunter Jane Yellowrock, and the ROGUE MAGE series, a post-apocalyptic, alternate reality series, featuring Thorn St. Croix, a stone mage. She has a new series under wraps.

Under the pen name Gwen Hunter, she also writes action-adventure, mysteries, and thrillers.

Jane Yellowrock has her hands full in the latest novel in the New York Times bestselling series that captures “the essence of urban fantasy” (SF Site).Slaying vampires is child’s play for skinwalker Jane Yellowrock. But handling the complicated politics of New Orleans’ supernatural players is another story...Jane is keeping the peace between visiting groups of witches and vamps in the city, but then trouble comes knocking on her doorstep. When her house is magically attacked, the wild chase to find her assailants unearths a mystery that has literally been buried deep. A missing master vampire, presumed long deceased, is found chained in a pit...undead, raving mad, and in the company of two human bodies. Now it’s up to Jane to find out who kept the vampire hidden for so long and why, because the incident could tip already high supernatural tensions to an all-out arcane war.

GUEST POST BY FAITH HUNTER:

Short Story pt.6

IT’S JUST A DATE Part SIX

From the world of Jane Yellowrock

Copyright Faith Hunter

The sound of sirens arriving was crisp on the air. Shouting. Bright lights, purpled by the odd cloud. The restaurant wasn’t empty. I could still smell Bruiser and humans at the front, and Eli and Sylvia at the back. It made sense. Someone had to coordinate the response teams, which meant Jodi and Wrassler would be outside with the populace and the first responders. Syl, the chief of police from Natchez, wasn’t leaving Eli, and Eli and Bruiser weren’t leaving me. Crap.

Two thirds of their concern was stupid. Bruiser and I weren’t human. We were more likely to withstand magical attack than a human. Eli and Syl were human, and were just as likely to die from magic as any other human, well trained solder and cop or not. Military and paramilitary measures were no help against magical workings.

Worse, the wall of spelled purple smoke was growing, expanding. It had filled the hallway, the restaurant, and was moving into the kitchen. It should have dissolved and dispersed after Commander and Mrs. Walker left the scene. But … it was getting bigger. So maybe it had a secondary target.

My cell dinged and I risked a glance at the screen. Molly had sent a text. “Does it have eyes? Claws? Fangs? How man?”

I texted back, “No. Is filling space. O2 replacement?” I was asking if it intended to suffocate us. Then, the purple-smoke-cloud-spell shifted, roiling, as if blown back by a slow wind. It changed shape. I texted, “Now see claws. See fangs. One set.”

From the front of the restaurant I saw a flash of gold, like a sizzling length of horizontal lightning. The kind that goes cloud to cloud, not heavens to ground. And through the air I heard cursing and sound of pain. Then the footsteps of half a dozen human holdouts as they finally took Bruiser’s word and skedaddled.

Speechless. That sums up my feelings after reading Faith Hunter's latest offering in the Jane Yellowrock series. Shadow Rites is a full-on punch in the gut. It leaves one breathless. Stunned. And yes, speechless.

As Jane continues to prepare for the unwelcome visit from the European vampires, she must also take time to finalize plans for the vampire and witch meeting that could bring about an agreement between the long-time enemies. But as usual, just when Jane seems to have a handle on things, her world takes a hard left into fubar town. A vampire long believed to be truly dead, is found. A victim of kidnapping, torture and blood magic. Someone wants to make sure that the vampire/witch accord is not signed. And it is obvious that no line will remain uncrossed in order to disrupt any hope of peace. Jane has to figure out the who and the how in order to stop this unknown deadly threat.

When other series begin to wan after awhile, Faith Hunter has found the magic formula that keeps a long-running series continually evolving. Each book is not only as good as the last, it is even better.

Jane Yellowrock is the last of her kind-a skinwalker of Cherokee descent who can turn into any creature she desires and hunts vampires for a living. But now she’s been hired by Katherine Fontaneau, one of the oldest vampires in New Orleans and the madam of Katie’s Ladies, to hunt a powerful rogue vampire who’s killing other vamps…

The vampire council has hired skinwalker Jane Yellowrock to hunt and kill one of their own who has broken sacred ancient rules — but Jane quickly realizes that in a community that is thousands of years old, loyalties run deep…

With the help of her witch best friend and local vigilantes, Jane finds herself caught between bitter rivalries — and closer than ever to the secret origin of the entire vampire race. But in a city of old grudges and dark magic, Jane will have to fight to protect both sides, even if no one will protect her.

The vampires of Asheville, North Carolina, want to establish their own clan, but since they owe loyalty to the Master Vampire of New Orleans they must work out the terms with him. To come up with an equitable solution, he sends an envoy with the best bodyguard blood money can buy: Jane Yellowrock.

But when a group of local campers are attacked by something fanged, Jane goes from escort to investigator. Unless she wants to face a very angry mast vampire, she will have to work overtime to find the killer. It’s a good thing she’s worth every penny.

Jane Yellowrock is a shapeshifting skinwalker you don’t want to cross – especially if you’re one of the undead…For a vampire killer like Jane, having Leo Pellisier as a boss took some getting used to. But now, someone is out to take his place as Master Vampire of the city of New Orleans, and is not afraid to go through Jane to do it. After an attack that’s tantamount to…a war declaration, Leo knows his rival is both powerful and vicious, but Leo’s not about to run scared. After all, he has Jane.But then, a plague strikes, one that takes down vampires and makes their masters easy prey. Now, to uncover the identity of the vamp who wants Leo’s territory, and to find the cause of the vamp-plague, Jane will have to go to extremes…and maybe even to war.

Jane Yellowrock is a shape-shifting skinwalker who’s always up for a fight—even if it means putting her life on the line…

The Master of Natchez, Mississippi has a nasty problem on his hands. Rogue vampires—those who follow the Naturaleza and believe that humans should be nothing more than prey to be hunted—are terrorizing his city. Luckily, he knows the perfect skinwalker to call in to take back the streets.

But what he doesn’t tell Jane is that there’s something different about these vamps. Something that makes them harder to kill—even for a pro like Jane. Now, her simple job has turned into a fight to stay alive…and to protect the desperately ill child left in her care.

Jane Yellowrock is a shape-shifting skinwalker who always takes care of her own—no matter the cost…

When Evan Trueblood blows into town looking for his wife, Molly, he’s convinced that she came to see her best friend, Jane. But it seems like the witch made it to New Orleans and then disappeared without a trace.

Jane is ready to do whatever it takes to find her friend. Her desperate search leads her deep into a web of black magic and betrayal and into the dark history between vampires and witches. But the closer she draws to Molly, the closer she draws to a new enemy—one who is stranger and more powerful than any she has ever faced.

Jane Yellowrock is a vampire killer for hire—but other creatures of the night still need to watch their backs….

When the Master of the city of New Orleans asks Jane to improve security for a future visit from a delegation of European vampires, she names an exorbitant price—and Leo is willing to pay. That’s because the European vamps want Leo’s territory, and he knows that he needs Jane to prevent a total bloodbath. Leo, however, doesn’t mention how this new job will change Jane’s life or the danger it will bring her and her team.

Jane has more to worry about than some greedy vampires. There’s a vicious creature stalking the streets of New Orleans, and its agenda seems to be ripping Leo and her to pieces. Now Jane just has to figure out how to kill something she can’t even see….

Shapeshifting skinwalker Jane Yellowrock is the best in the business when it comes to slaying vampires. But her latest fanged foe may be above her pay grade…

For centuries, the extremely powerful and ruthless vampire witches of the European Council have wandered the Earth, controlling governments, fostering war, creating political conflict, and often leaving absolute destruction in their wake. One of the strongest of them is set to create some havoc in the city of New Orleans, and it’s definitely personal.

Jane is tasked with tracking him down. With the help of a tech wiz and an ex-Army ranger, her partners in Yellowrock Securities, she’ll have to put everything on the line, and hope it’s enough. Things are about to get real hard in the Big Easy.

They sound utterly fantastic right!? They absolutely are! Don’t miss out and make sure you add them to your TBR and find them from your favorite bookseller as soon as you can if you have not yet taken the Jane Yellowrock ride.

Donna was born and raised in Texas but loves to travel. Her adventures have taken her throughout the United States as well as to Jamaica, Mexico, and Scotland. Growing up on the Texas/Louisiana border, Donna’s Cajun side of the family taught her the “spicy” side of life while her Texas roots gave her two-steppin' and bareback riding.

Her childhood dream was to become a professional ballet dancer and study under the amazing Mikhail Baryshnikov. Though she never got to meet Baryshnikov, she did make it to New York City and performed in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Later, Donna’s love of the romance genre and the constant stories running through her head prompted her to sit down and write her first book. Once that book was completed, there was no turning back.

Despite the deadlines and her voracious reading, Donna still manages to keep up with her two young children, three cats, and one long haired Chihuahua. She’s blessed with a proud, supportive husband who’s learned to cook far more than frozen chicken nuggets.

There is no escaping a Reaper. I am an elite assassin, part of a brotherhood that only answers to Death. And when Death says your time is up, I am coming for you...

My whole existence is based on taking what Death wants. Born to eliminate Fae guilty of unforgivable crimes, my reckless, wild nature makes me the perfect assassin to carry out Death's bidding. I've seen more sinister and violent dealings than anyone could ever imagine. But it was the sight of her face that stopped me cold. I've never wanted a woman-never mind a human-so badly; never felt my heart, hardened by death, burn brighter and hotter until it burst into flames. She is everything I desire. The kind of woman that compels you to stake your claim on her, to let the world know that she's yours. A Reaper saving her life will only attract danger, but I vow to protect her at all costs from the Fae that hunther, and keep safe the woman who has claimed me, body and soul.

There's no escaping a Reaper. I'm an elite assassin, part of a brotherhood that only answers to Death. And when Death says your time is up, I'm coming for you...

I'm a warrior. My unbreakable determination, my backbone of steel define me. As a Reaper who does Death's bidding, weakness is a word I don't understand. Until a stunning librarian stirs emotions deep within me I've never felt before. Her soft curves blunt the sharp edges of my soul, crushing my defenses - yet make me stronger. But underneath those wide eyes and fierce femininity, she has a weapon, one she won't hesitate to use. And when the Dark begin their deadly descent, we'll need each other's love and protection...or risk fracturing apart.

Dark Alpha's Embrace is coming tomorrow, and for the feature today, I have a very special gift for you all. There were a very limited number of custom posts for this event, and I was lucky enough to get one. Check it this EXCLUSIVE EXCERPT!!

EXCLUSIVE EXCERPT:

Cael
strode through the jungle of flowers. He didn’t carefully pick his way through
as he usually did. This time he didn’t care if he pissed off Death—because he
was too furious.

He
reached the tower and tried the metal handle. It didn’t budge. If Cael thought
he could break through the oak door, he’d do it in a heartbeat. But it was
fortified by Death’s magic. Nothing was getting through that Death didn’t want.

Cael
took a few steps back and looked up. He saw the shutters open high above him.
“You can’t keep me out forever.”

“Of
course I can,” came the soft reply behind him.

He
whirled around and came face-to-face with Death. One of the fiercest creatures
in the universe only reached as high as his shoulders. Death wasn’t a skeleton
or even a man.

Death
was a woman.

She
blinked at him with eyes a soft shade of lavender. Long, thick black lashes framed
the unusual hue. Wide lips, full and alluring, didn’t tilt up in a smile—though
that wasn’t out of the norm.

Hair as
black as pitch fell past a slim waist to narrow hips. An onyx silk gown encased
a figure that made his hands ache to touch. The skirt was full, as typical,
with crimson edging the trim. It faded to black, mixing with the black.

He held
Death’s gaze, waiting. It wouldn’t do any good to argue. Because Death never
lost.

“Let me
inside,” he said between clenched teeth.

Erith
sighed. She turned her head to the side when a dragonfly circled her face, the
sunlight glinting off its iridescent wings.

She held
out her hand, and the dragonfly alit upon her palm. To his shock, Cael saw her
lips tilt up in a smile. In all the thousands of years he’d known her, not once
had he seen such.

As if
she realized she wasn’t alone, the grin disappeared. A moment later, the
dragonfly flew away. Erith slid her gaze to him. “I don’t want to beat the
information outof Seamus, Cael. I want to flip him to our side.”

“He
ventured into the Netherworld for Bran. Seamus isn’t going to switch sides so
easily.”

Death’s
head cocked to the side. “I can be very . . . persuasive . . . when needed.”

Without
a doubt he knew that to be true. It only took one look for males of all species
to want her. It was one of the reasons Erith kept to her own realm where no one
dared to venture.

All
across the universe, Death was feared. And she used it to her advantage.

“I need
to see him.” The bastard needed to be gutted several times over for releasing
Bran back into the world.

Death
closed the distance between them and laid her palm on his chest. “Calm your
anger.”

Cael
stared down at her in shock. The only other time she touched him was when he
became a Reaper. Erith always kept her distance from anyone and anything. Yet
she was touching him now.

He could
feel the warmth of her hand through his shirt, sinking into his skin. Though he
couldn’t discern any magic being used, his anger began to fade.

She was
so close he could see the dark purple encircling her irises. He could smell the
scent of the flowers she loved so much clinging to her, as if they needed her
almost as much as . . .

Cael
didn’t finish the thought. He couldn’t.

How excited are you? I know I can't wait...

Make sure to enter to win 1 of 5 eCopies of Dark Alpha's Claim, book #1, below! And be sure to get your copy of Dark Alpha's Embrace tomorrow!

I'm here to help you celebrate all Spring has to offer with a new release from Lia Davis, A Leopard's Path, the latest ASHWOOD FALLS novel...

Lia
Davis is a mother to two young adults and three equally special kitties, a wife
to hersoul
mate, and a lover of romance. She and her family live in Northeast Florida
battling hurricanes and very humid summers. But it’s her home and she loves it!

An accounting major, Lia has always been a dreamer with a very active
imagination. The wheels in her head never stop. She ventured into the world of
writing and publishing in 2008 and loves it more than she imagined. Writing is
stress reliever that allows her to go off in her corner of the house and enter
into another world that she created, leaving real life where it belongs.
Her favorite things are spending time with family, traveling, reading, writing,
chocolate, coffee, nature and hanging out with her kitties.

Stolen from her
family as an infant, Ana Darwin-Andrews has to piece together her past and
present. Her whole life is a lie. There’s only one man she feels she can trust,
but even he has secrets.

Kieran Michaels keeps a tight lid on his past,
but the Onyx Alpha knows his darkest secrets. Kieran will stop at nothing to
destroy the rogue before the past is revealed. Ana can never discover his hands are as bloodstained as their enemy’s, because life without her is not an option.

Our Review, by LITERAL ADDICTION's Pack Alpha - Chelle:

*Copy gifted in exchange for an honest review

A Leopard's Path was my first foray into Ashwood Falls and I have to say, I'm a little bit hooked. With that said, ALP can be read as a standalone, BUT... I definitely feel that it would be enjoyed even more if you knew a bit more about Ana and Kieran's history and those of the Pack members around them and what led up to the start of A Leopard's Path when Ana ends up at Ashwood.

Stolen from her true family as an infant, Ana was raised with the crazy Alpha of the Onyx Pack. In A Leopard's Path, you will get hints of what happened in previous books - the Onyx Pack was destroyed, Felix set out in search of his mate, Ana's adoptive sister sets out on her own, etc.

Ana and Kieran obviously have some major history. While I didn't know it all going in, I could feel the heartache, and even as a first time reader, wanted nothing more than Ana and Kieran's happily ever after. They certainly fight for it, and those who have been with them on their entire journey will no double adore this book even more than those, who like me, were just getting to know them.

Outside of Ana and Kieran's romance, the story is action-packed as the Pack sets out to defend against an enemy set on their destruction for a long time. There's plenty of tension and you can't help but sit on the edge of your seat and root for the good guys.

Ashwood Falls fans will no doubt be completely won over by A Leopard's Path, but I think that new readers will find it utterly enjoyable, as well, and want more from this intriguing and beguiling world.

I love writing in the Ashwood Falls world. I love each character
from the heroes and heroines to the children that make an appearance from time
to time. I put together some of my favorite quotes starting from the beginning.

*18+ warning. A few of the quotes are not suitable for readers
under 18.*

Quote 1 from Winter Eve
(Prequel)

Dear. God.

He was built like a
cat, full of lean muscle and yummy. Licking her lips, she placed her palm on
his chest and threaded her fingers through the dust of blond hair. He pressed
into her, forcing her to lie back. When her back touched the mattress, he
lifted from her and proceeded to remove her pants.

She sat back up,
holding on to his wrist. “Wait.” Her heart hammered behind her ribs.

He pressed a quick kiss
to her lips. “Do the scars get worse?”

She shook her head.
“No.”

“Then lie back like a
good kitty.”

Quote 2 from A Tiger’s
Claim (book 1)

Peering down at her, he
placed a hand on her arm and her head snapped up in his direction. Her
Caribbean-blue eyes darkened as her pupils narrowed into cat-like slits. Damn.
It was hitting her faster than he expected. He slowly moved to get off the bed,
very much aware she watched his every movement.

Finally standing, he
had no time to react when she pounced on him, sending him flat on his back on
the floor, her recent injury clearly not on her mind. Shayna’s deep breaths and
the desire in her gaze told him there was no out. The tiger had caught her prey,
and God help him, he was going to enjoy pleasing her appetite.

Quote 3 from A Mating Dance (book 2)

Silver swirled in his
eyes, indicating the leopard was close to the surface. She wasn’t in the mood
to fight him, not over Graham. And definitely not over mating.

She gasped as her back
touched the cool tile wall. Blaine thrust his hard thigh between her legs,
drawing a half-moan, half-growl from her. His mouth came down on hers hard and
greedy. She relished the roughness of his touch, loving it. He always knew what
she needed and when she needed it.

Right now, she needed
to be dominated and taken in the way only Blaine could.

Quote 4 from Surrendering to the Alpha (book 3)

He laid down beside her
and drew her into his arms and held her as the last shudder left her body. She
laughed and said, “That was…”

He kissed her temple.
“That was just a tease.”

She laughed again and
then fell silent. He wanted to demand that she tell him what was going on
inside that head of hers, but he reined in the urge.

Finally, she spoke. “You
didn’t…you weren’t satisfied.”

He squeezed her closer
to him. “I’m fine. Pleasuring you is enough for now.”

“But—”

He cut her off by
biting down on her earlobe, which drew a squeak out of her. “No buts, Addy.
Clear?”

She let out a breath,
and he could hear the smile she tried to hide. “Yes, my Alpha.”

He
pinched her hip and growled, “Don’t you forget it.”

Quote 5 from Divided Loyalties (book 4)

A crooked grin was his reply
before he stopped inches from her, looped one arm around her, and pulled her
against his body, hard. Then his mouth was on hers, his tongue pushing through
the seam of her lips. One of his hands glided up her back and into her hair,
where he fisted a handful and pulled just enough to bring her into submission.

God, he tasted too good, like
bittersweet chocolate.

He walked her backward until he
had her pinned to the trunk of a large tree. Her skin felt as though it were on
fire. Every inch of her was too sensitive, her body too aware of the dominating
male who held her trapped.

In that moment, she was too tired
to fight. She wanted him like she’d wanted no one before. He ignited a need
deep inside she couldn’t deny.

He broke the kiss and held her
gaze for a brief moment. “I can’t hold back any longer.”

And she couldn't fight the pull to
him anymore. Breathless, she offered him a crooked smile and said, “Then
don’t.”

Quote 6 from A Leopard’s Path

He lowered his
head and playfully nipped at her throat. “Of course, I’ll have to mark you.”

Her laugh turned
into a startled gasp as he bit into her shoulder. A surge of power arched in
the air as she wrapped her legs around his waist and squeezed. With a quick
thrust, he entered her, intensifying the pleasure rolling through him. He would
have to claim her soon. War or no war. The urge, along with his damn leopard,
would drive him mad if he didn’t.

The sting of her
nails scoring his back flared his desire, and his cock throbbed as he rocked
his hips and increased the tempo. Sex with Ana had always been great, but
starting the dance with the intent to mate her had heightened his awareness of
her emotions and power.

He released her
neck and stared at the bite mark, a possessive pride filling him. Halting his motions and raising his gaze to
hers, he smiled. “I love you.”

A tear slid from
the corner of her eye. “I love you, too.”

The acceptance
in her words made him realize just how much he’d pushed her away in the last
few months. He was an ass and didn’t deserve her. He cupped her head, gazed
into her grey eyes for a few moments, and then kissed her. She threaded her
fingers into his hair and pulled slightly as her tongue met his halfway.

Tingles
skittered over his skin and seeped inside his heart. She was his, and he’d make
it up to her by giving her the courtship she deserved. Even if the dance only
lasted a few days.

I’m here today to promote and celebrate the new book of the SKINWALKER/JANE YELLOWROCK series by Faith Hunter.

New York Times bestselling author Faith Hunter writes dark urban fantasy and paranormal thrillers, including the SKINWALKER series featuring Jane Yellowrock, and the series. series, featuring rogue-vampire hunter Jane Yellowrock, and the ROGUE MAGE series, a post-apocalyptic, alternate reality series, featuring Thorn St. Croix, a stone mage. She has a new series under wraps.

Under the pen name Gwen Hunter, she also writes action-adventure, mysteries, and thrillers.

Shapeshifting skinwalker Jane Yellowrock is the best in the business when it comes to slaying vampires. But her latest fanged foe may be above her pay grade…

For centuries, the extremely powerful and ruthless vampire witches of the European Council have wandered the Earth, controlling governments, fostering war, creating political conflict, and often leaving absolute destruction in their wake. One of the strongest of them is set to create some havoc in the city of New Orleans, and it’s definitely personal.

Jane is tasked with tracking him down. With the help of a tech wiz and an ex-Army ranger, her partners in Yellowrock Securities, she’ll have to put everything on the line, and hope it’s enough. Things are about to get real hard in the Big Easy.

GUEST POST BY FAITH HUNTER:

--A Sunday in the life...

I know you will roll your eyes, but I get up, take care of the dogs, get dressed, and go to church in the morning. Spirituality is important to me and while I can get a lot of my spirituality being out in nature, I also have the need for ritual and direction. It isn’t for everyone, and I have no problem with anyone of any religious practice or people with no religious practice at all. This is what bringsmepeace and givesmea grounding. It works for me.

Then, I stop by an organic market and pick up some Goat’s Milk for making Kefir grains. And some sushi. And a red pepper. And some raw cocoa powder. It’s odd. Some days I’ll go in and come out with one thing. Other days I load up.

Back home, I prepare and eat a good lunch, check emails, and welcome the Hubs in. We have a lot of eldercare issues and Sunday is the Hub’s busiest day with his side of the family.

Then I go to work. No rest for the wicked, I guess, even on the day of rest. Today I am working on the outline on a short story/novella set in the Jane Yellowrock series. I plan for it to be about 30K words and getting all the plot points down is important. I am not a pantser (a writer who writes by the seat of her pants, going with the flow). I carefully outline every plot point. What I don’t outline is the way my characters feel about what happens around them and to them. For me, that part is a result of the writing process, not the outlining process. Does the outline always stand “as is” when I am done? Nope. Usually it goes ass over teakettle when I start writing. But the planning settles everything in my mind and prepares me to write.

I work only about 45 minutes at a time, then I get up and move around. My butt is big enough, thank you very much. Moving is good for my joints and my circulation and my overall feeling of well-being. While I move, I might get water, make tea, dust mop the wood floors, put together ingredients for bread, start dinner, or put on a load of clothes. During this move-time, the creative process continues, and I am always working out something in my subconscious, because when I sit back at the computer, the writing is almost always faster and better. Back before I would get up so often, I managed about five pages a day writing (for me that is about 1.5K to 2K words) in about 8 eight hours. Now that I stop and move, I manage about 6 or 7 pages (about 2K words) in less hours. And I get stuff done.

Because it’s Sunday, I might take a longer break to take a nap. Yes. I am a napper on Sundays. I also do not exercise on Sundays. I rest. Or what passes as rest for me. Then back to work, which I do until 8 pm or 9 pm and the Hubs comes back home and I take the time to veg out in front of the TV with a book to read. And then bed.

No, no wild parties or drinking. Nite all!

Check out the rest of Faith's Guest Posts and find out what she does the other days of the week over at the other tour stops.

Faith Hunter’s Dark Heir, the ninth book in the Jane Yellowrock series, continues the thrill-ride that was established when we first met Jane.

When the ancient vampire witch known as the Son Of Darkness escapes from Leo’s dungeon, no one is safe. Not humans. Not the Mithrans. No one. And when the body count begins to rise, Jane has to find a way to stop a monster who seems invincible.

Oh, and the Big Bad has a personal grudge against Jane.

With the help of Beast, her partners Eli and Alex, friends, allies and semi-allies, an injured Jane goes on the hunt for what could be her final hunt.

Dark Heir starts out fast and furious, and maintains full velocity throughout. I love that each book in this series doles out a little more information regarding what makes Jane... Jane. The relationship between Jane and Beast continues to grow and well as her relationships with other characters.

Jane Yellowrock is the last of her kind-a skinwalker of Cherokee descent who can turn into any creature she desires and hunts vampires for a living. But now she’s been hired by Katherine Fontaneau, one of the oldest vampires in New Orleans and the madam of Katie’s Ladies, to hunt a powerful rogue vampire who’s killing other vamps…

The vampire council has hired skinwalker Jane Yellowrock to hunt and kill one of their own who has broken sacred ancient rules — but Jane quickly realizes that in a community that is thousands of years old, loyalties run deep…

With the help of her witch best friend and local vigilantes, Jane finds herself caught between bitter rivalries — and closer than ever to the secret origin of the entire vampire race. But in a city of old grudges and dark magic, Jane will have to fight to protect both sides, even if no one will protect her.

The vampires of Asheville, North Carolina, want to establish their own clan, but since they owe loyalty to the Master Vampire of New Orleans they must work out the terms with him. To come up with an equitable solution, he sends an envoy with the best bodyguard blood money can buy: Jane Yellowrock.

But when a group of local campers are attacked by something fanged, Jane goes from escort to investigator. Unless she wants to face a very angry mast vampire, she will have to work overtime to find the killer. It’s a good thing she’s worth every penny.

Jane Yellowrock is a shapeshifting skinwalker you don’t want to cross – especially if you’re one of the undead…For a vampire killer like Jane, having Leo Pellisier as a boss took some getting used to. But now, someone is out to take his place as Master Vampire of the cit of New Orleans, and is not afraid to go through Jane to do it. After an attack that’s tantamount to…a war declaration, Leo knows his rival is both powerful and vicious, but Leo’s not about to run scared. After all, he has Jane.But then, a plague strikes, one that takes down vampires and makes their masters easy prey. Now, to uncover the identity of the vamp who wants Leo’s territory, and to find the cause of the vamp-plague, Jane will have to go to extremes…and maybe even to war.

Jane Yellowrock is a shape-shifting skinwalker who’s always up for a fight—even if it means putting her life on the line…

The Master of Natchez, Mississippi has a nasty problem on his hands. Rogue vampires—those who follow the Naturaleza and believe that humans should be nothing more than prey to be hunted—are terrorizing his city. Luckily, he knows the perfect skinwalker to call in to take back the streets.

But what he doesn’t tell Jane is that there’s something different about these vamps. Something that makes them harder to kill—even for a pro like Jane. Now, her simple job has turned into a fight to stay alive…and to protect the desperately ill child left in her care.

Jane Yellowrock is a shape-shifting skinwalker who always takes care of her own—no matter the cost…

When Evan Trueblood blows into town looking for his wife, Molly, he’s convinced that she came to see her best friend, Jane. But it seems like the witch made it to New Orleans and then disappeared without a trace.

Jane is ready to do whatever it takes to find her friend. Her desperate search leads her deep into a web of black magic and betrayal and into the dark history between vampires and witches. But the closer she draws to Molly, the closer she draws to a new enemy—one who is stranger and more powerful than any she has ever faced.

Jane Yellowrock is a vampire killer for hire—but other creatures of the night still need to watch their backs….

When the Master of the city of New Orleans asks Jane to improve security for a future visit from a delegation of European vampires, she names an exorbitant price—and Leo is willing to pay. That’s because the European vamps want Leo’s territory, and he knows that he needs Jane to prevent a total bloodbath. Leo, however, doesn’t mention how this new job will change Jane’s life or the danger it will bring her and her team.

Jane has more to worry about than some greedy vampires. There’s a vicious creature stalking the streets of New Orleans, and its agenda seems to be ripping Leo and her to pieces. Now Jane just has to figure out how to kill something she can’t even see….

They sound utterly fantastic right!? They absolutely are! Don’t miss out and make sure you add them to your TBR and find them from your favorite bookseller as soon as you can if you have not yet taken the Jane Yellowrock ride.

Call Me Valentino - Fall in love this Valentine's Day as USA Today and Amazon Best Selling authors come together to bring you one sexy hero written in five different genres. Call Me Valentino uses the same hero set in five different worlds. Your new book boyfriend is a cowboy, an FBI agent, A Highland Laird, a real estate developer and even a vampire. Which Valentino will be your favorite?

The Matron by Kirsten Osbourne

Since being widowed, Cassie Morgan had devoted her life to the orphans in the orphanage she'd managed. When a new church took over the orphanage and decided to turn it into a boys' home, she was both frightened and unsure about how she would make things work for the girls. Being told she had to take fifteen young ladies all the way to Texas from New York didn't make her feel better.

Valentino Hayes had spent his entire adult life searching for the younger brother he vaguely remembered. Just after finding a lead that would send him to Fort Worth, he was offered the job of driving a bus full of orphans to Texas. He jumped at the chance, knowing he needed to not only find his brother, but work while he was searching. He didn't plan on Mrs. Morgan's love for the children to turn his head. Could he convince her to travel with him? And how was he going to provide for a wife while he was still searching for his brother?

Undercovers by Jamie Lee Scott

When FBI agent Valentino "Vin" Jackson's undercover sting operation goes bad, he teams up with Special Agent Ellis Boyd of the DEA, who has some special talents of her own, to take down a drug ring working for the Mexican cartels.

The Brute and the Blogger by Olivia Gaines

Tino Boehner was up to his ears with Ebony Miller’s pot shots at him on her blog. Just as he was trying to figure out how to turn the tables, fate dumped her in his lap. Seizing the opportunity, he made her an offer she couldn’t refuse; come work by his side for a month.

A month can be a lifetime, or just enough time to make a man want to change his brutish ways.

Highlander, The Archer by Hildie McQueen

Valent made an oath to protect the McLeod clan after they rescued him as a foundling. However, after years of mistreatments at the Lairds hands, he questions his obligation to uphold his promise.

When a rival clan attacks and kills her brothers, Ariana McLeod's world is turned upside down. That she's fallen in love with the handsome archer, Valent, is a complication and a blessing at once. Amidst battles, revelations and treachery, is it possible to expect their love to triumph?

A Vampire's Penance by Jordan K. Rose

The chain of events set in motion when Rafe Valentino tries to stop his brother from making the stupidest decision of his life borders on deadly. Rafe goes from being one of the most terrifying creatures to walk the earth to requiring around the clock nursing care. As if being physically injured wasn’t enough, the senior member of The Vampire Guard has no choice but to reveal the heinous secret of his past in order to protect nurse Maddie Van Kool from throwing away her life on him.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS:

Kirsten Osbourne hails from the state of Wisconsin, but has lived in Texas for almost thirty years. She is a mother, a writer, and a wife. Married to the love of her life for fifteen years, she knows that true love exists and wants to share her vision of love with the world. Writing is something she has always loved and plans on doing for a long time into the future. As Kirsten Osbourne, she writes contemporary romance as well as historical. As Morganna Mayfair, she ventures into the realm of paranormal romance. She invites you to join her in her world of fantasy and make believe where there is always a happily ever after at the end. Find out more: http://www.kirstenandmorganna.com

Originally from the Central Coast of California, Jamie was swept off her feet by a dashing Iowa farm boy and moved to the Midwest.

After several years of running a restaurant with her husband, she felt the urge to kill people. Rather than going postal, she decided to start writing fiction.

Her new series, set in the fictional town of Uncertain, CA, will debut in Fall 2014.

Unable to leave the California life behind, Jamie also writes screenplays for movies and TV. Though she has yet to sell to Hollywood, her short script, No One Knows, was sold in 2012, and made the film festival rounds in 2013-14. No One Knows has been nominated for multiple awards, and won its category at the Bare Bones Film Festival.

She lives on a small farm with her family, 2 dogs, 2 cats and 3 horses.

Olivia Gaines is the author of numerous best selling novellas and books including Two Nights in Vegas,

A Few More Nights, and have had several number one best sellers with The Blakemore Files including Being

Mrs. Blakemore and Shopping with Mrs. Blakemore. Cruising with the Blakemores became an international best

seller on Amazon in the UK and in Australia.

Olivia is a native of Alabama and nowlives in Augusta, GA with her husband, son and snotty cat,

Katness Evermean.

Connect with Olivia on her FB page at http://on.fb.me/1eorEAr or her website at http://oliviagaines.com The Davonshire SeriesCourting GuinevereLoving WordsVanity's PleasureThe Blakemore FilesBeing Mrs. BlakemoreShopping with Mrs. BlakemoreDancing with Mr. BlakemoreCruising with the Blakemores (2015)The Sizzling Nights SeriesTwo Nights in Vegas.

Hildie writes Historical Western Romance as well as Paranormal Romance, with a touch of Historical here and there. She's also published eight Highlander Historical Erotic short stories. She's a member of Romance Writers of America, as well as Georgia Romance Writers and Fantasy, Futuristic and Paranormal Chapters of RWA.

For fun she spends a lot of time with her girlfriends. Her wonderful hubby is her partner in crime for traveling. They love to jump in the car or sometimes his motorcycle and head to the mountains, the city or the beach. Find out more: http://www.hildiemcqueen.com

Jordan loves vampires. But if you know anything about Jordan, you already know that detail. What you didn't know is that it wasn't long ago she began writing about them.

A few years back Jordan received a copy of Stephenie Meyer's Twilight from her husband as part of her anniversary gift. By the end of that week she'd read the entire series and moved onto Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles. Eight weeks and eighteen vampire books later the idea for her first book, Perpetual Light came to her followed very quickly by Eva Prim.

Jordan is a member of the national Romance Writers of America organization and several chapters.

When she's not writing about one vampire or another Jordan enjoys spending time with her husband, Ken and their lovable Labrador, Dino on the beautiful beaches of New England.

The Eva Prim Series now includes two full length novels, The Demon Mistress and Prim & Proper, and four short stories. Black Magic Rose, Book One of The Alliance Series is now available. Book 2 is coming late 2014. Find out more: http://www.jordankrose.com

Behind The Curtain of Call me Valentino

By Hildie McQueen

Our group of five authors planned and plotted to do a Valentine's Day anthology, but needed something to bring all the stories together.A common thread that will weave each novella and bring them into a theme surrounding Valentine's Day is an easy thing.Coming up with something not done before...not so easy.

The "what if?" came with the conception of my muse, the hero for my story.As I toyed with the idea of a Highlander named Valent, archer, of course (queue the cupid reference) the muse said."Why can't I be the common thread?Put me in each of the author's hands and I will play whatever role they put me in."What a smart guy that Valentino.

Hence, I take full credit because he can't since technically he is imaginary.I hope that you can catch glimpses of the same character in each story as he is thrown into different arenas to conquer our reader's minds and hearts.

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Valentino.Same Hero, Different Worlds.

In The Matron, Kirsten Osbourne's Valentino is a Cowboy in the 1800s

In Undercovers Jamie Lee Scott's Valentino is a modern day Detective

In The Brute and the Blogger Olvia Gaine's Valentino is a real estate developer

In The Vampire's Penance Jordan K. Rose's Valentino is a vampire in Central City

Lastly in Highlander, The Archer, my Valentino is a Highlander in Medieval Scotland

Hello everyone! LITERAL ADDICTION is very happy to be
promoting for the wonderful D.B Reynolds again today.

D. B. Reynolds is the RT Award-Winning author of the popular
Vampires in America series of Paranormal Romance/Urban Fantasy and an
Emmy-nominated television sound editor. She lives with her husband of many
years in a flammable canyon near the Malibu coast, and when she’s not writing
her own books, she can usually be found reading someone else’s. Visit her blog
at www.dbreynolds.com for details on all of
her books, for free stories and more.

TREACHERY . . . when friendship is abused, duty turns to
burden, and blood is not enough.

UNFORGIVEN . . . because there are some things that can
never be forgotten.

Allegiance . . . Treachery . . . Unforgiven.

War is imminent, and a spy has infiltrated Raphael’s estate.
But his target is not Raphael; it’s his sister, Alexandra, whose earlier
duplicity nearly cost Cyn her life. Raphael and Cyn are determined to play the
spy’s game, traveling to Mexico to discover who their enemy is and just how far
he’ll go to win. But once Raphael finds his sister, can he take the chance that
she won’t betray him again?

Our Review, by
LITERAL ADDICTION's Pack Alpha - Chelle:

*Copy gifted in
exchange for an honest review

Cyn and Raphael are back
with another fast-paced and sexy read with beautiful continuation of the
previous full-length novel, and wonderful setup for the one coming.

As usual, someone is
out to eliminate Raphael, this time, it might be coming from across the border.
Raphael and the other Lords have worked tirelessly to build a covert alliance,
but there are still some that are not onboard with the changes, and the fragile
power structure within those pockets are getting a little out of control.

These novellas are
awesome and I think they're a great compliment to the series as a whole. I
would not suggest reading the novellas without reading the full-length book of
the series, however, as they jump right in with the thick of things and could
leave some readers confused. Outside of that, I would highly recommend
Unoforgiven for all ViA fans!

This series is great, and the novellas really are the
perfect compliment along with D.B’s free reads on her website. For the rest of
today, let’s see what D.B had to say when I let her take over the site.

But then I really started thinking about it, and, yeah I can
see that. The high of their first coming together (pun intended), the deep low
of their separation, then another high when they get back together, and all the
smaller bumps as they struggle to find what works for them.

I guess that’s what you get when you bring together two
dominant and, let’s face it, neurotic personalities. Neither one of them had a
loving upbringing (although Raphael’s was hundreds of years ago, it still
shapes his relationships.) Neither of them knows how to trust someone enough to
let them in. Cyn is all stay-away edges, and Raphael is a control freak who
quickly realizes that Cyn will upset his neatly ordered life, and so he runs as
far and fast as he can.

But it’s also true that neither of them can deny the
powerful attraction between them. So the problem then becomes working out a
relationship that acknowledges the love they have, while at the same time
giving them each the freedom to be themselves. But isn’t that true of every
relationship? Cyn constantly battles Raphael’s attempts to control her the way
he does every other aspect of his life, while Raphael doesn’t understand why
she fights him when she should understand that he knows best and only wants to
take care of her.

I’ve always wanted my vampires, and the people around them,
to be as real as possible. I wanted to give a sense that vampires really might
exist, because in my books, they exist in the same world we do. And so Cyn and
Raphael’s relationship reflects that. They have arguments, because that’s what
people do. And then they make up, because people who love each other do that,
too. Even when Cyn was so furious with Raphael at the end of BETRAYED, even
when she threatened to leave him if he ever lied to her like that again … she didn’t
follow the instinct that was telling her to run away. Instead, she took his
hand and slept with him for the day, because, in the final analysis, she didn’t
want to hurt him.

And I hope that’s what comes through in their story. These
two people love each other deeply, passionately. It’s the kind of love that is
so powerful that it hurts, because you know how vulnerable it makes you. But you
can’t walk away, because while the potential lows are terrifying, the highs are
so very, very high.

Christina was born in New York and now lives on the North Side of Chicago with her husband and son. She sees no conflict in rooting for both the Yankees and the Cubs.She also enjoys running long distances, eating large quantities of cinnamon rolls, reading anything she can get her hands on and watching movies with zombies, samurai and/or subtitles.

Escorting souls into the afterlife leaves Maddy little time for socializing-until devilishly handsome Gabriel Angeloscuro agrees to rent the empty apartment in her building. But when demons start appearing on Maddy’s front lawn, she realizes there’s more to her new tenant than meets the eye.

Madeline Black is an Agent of death, meaning she escorts the souls of people who have died to the afterlife. Of course, not everyone is happy to see her…

If obstinate dead people were all that Maddy had to worry about, life would be much easier. But the best-laid plans of Agents and fallen angels often go awry. Deaths are occurring contrary to the natural order, Maddy’s being stalked by foes inside and outside of her family, and her two loves-her bodyguard, Gabriel, and her doughnut-loving gargoyle, Beezle-have disappeared. But because Maddy is Lucifer’s granddaughter, things are expected of her, things like delicate diplomatic missions to other realms.

Something is wrong with the souls of Chicago’s dead. Ghosts are walking the streets, and Agent of Death Madeline Black’s exasperating boss wants her to figure out why. And while work is bad enough, Maddy has a plethora of personal problems too. Now that Gabriel has been assigned as her thrall, their relationship has hit an impasse. At least her sleazy ex-fiance Nathaniel is out of the picture—or so she thinks…

As an Agent of Death, Madeline Black deals with loss every day. But when tragedy touches her own life, Maddy will have to find the strength within to carry on…

Devastated and grieving, Maddy unexpectedly finds hope with the discovery that she is pregnant. But Maddy’s joy is short lived when Lucifer informs her that he wants the baby, hoping to draw on the combined power of two of his bloodlines. Maddy is determined that her grandfather will never have her child, but she’s not sure what she can do to stop him.

Being pregnant is stressful enough, but Maddy suddenly finds herself at odds with the Agency—forbidden from meddling in the affairs of the supernatural courts. When a few of her soul collections go awry, Maddy begins to suspect that the Agency wants to terminate her employment. They should know by now that she isn’t the sort to give up without a fight…

Former Agent of death Madeline Black may have been stripped of her wings—but she hasn’t lost her purpose…

When Maddy finally killed her father, Azazel, she thought his depraved experiment died with him. But now Chicago has been infested with vampires immune to the effects of the sun, and the bloodbath is worse than she could have ever imagined. While the Agency refuses to interfere with other supernatural courts, Maddy is determined to do everything within her power to save her city—wings or no wings.

But when the leader of the vampires requests that she turn herself in or risk more deaths, Maddy becomes a target for the very people she’s trying to save. Left with no other choice, she turns to Lucifer, the one creature who has the power to help her. But her grandfather’s aid has always come at a price…

As a former Agent of Death, Madeline Black is no stranger to witnessing violent ends. But being the one to cause them is an entirely different story…

Despite her having saved Chicago from a vampire invasion, the Agency wants to get Maddy off their payroll—permanently. With the deadly Retrievers hot on her trail, she has no choice but to trust Nathaniel to port her to safety. But even the exotic and dangerous world that she winds up in is not as peaceful as she would have hoped. Caught in a turf war between a group of fae and a disturbingly familiar foe, Maddy soon discovers that the twisted plots of her grandfather, Lucifer, and his brothers extend even into this unknown realm.

Now, with enemies gathering on all sides, Maddy’s fate is looking darker than ever. And to protect her unborn son from her adversaries, she may have to tap into a power she hoped never to access…

A former Agent of death, Madeline Black now has everything to live for, most importantly, her unborn child. But Chicago has become ground zero in a struggle between ancient creatures, and only Maddy can stop the carnage…

The mayor of Chicago has announced a plan to round up the city’s supernatural beings and put them in camps. With her due date looming, Maddy’s best move would be to lay low for a while. But not everyone is willing to respect her privacy. Hounded by tentacled monsters, a rogue shapeshifter, and a tenacious blogger, Maddy turns to her most powerful ally, her uncle Daharan, only to find him missing.

Just when it seems like things can’t get any worse, Maddy gets an invitation in the mail—to Lucifer’s wedding. Turns out everyone has been invited, friends and enemies alike. And with that kind of guest list, it’s highly unlikely there will be a happily ever after.

Our Review, by LITERAL ADDICTION's Pack Alpha - Chelle:

*Copy gifted in exchange for an honest review

This is probably going to be a terrible review... Despite the time that has passed since I finished reading, I STILL can't compile my thoughts properly to do this book justice. Black Spring is one of those books that completely tears you in two. You don't want to put it down, but yet you don't want to keep reading because you know it will end...

My stomach was in knots for a lot of the book - in anticipation, in joy, in a bit of shock; and while the darkness & grit that I've come to relish in the last few books was still most definitely there, there was that awesome build up to the HEA we've all been waiting for as well.

Suspense, intrigue, action, subterfuge and character redemption combine to create one heck of a read.

I love the Black Wings series so very much - I have said it's one of my top 5 favorite UF series - & I will desperately miss this world & characters. While there hasn't been any definitive word that this was the last book of the series, it did feel like an ending to me. There's definite room for a spin off here though, & if this is indeed the end, I SO hope Christina gives us more some day. While I am anxiously chomping at the bit for Christina's new series, it will still be a sad, sad state of events now without my yearly BW release to look forward to.

I wholeheartedly recommend this series for all urban fantasy fans. I do, however, suggest reading the series in order for maximum enjoyment. The first few could probably be read as standalones, but you will enjoy the world and character interaction/development so much more if you read the series in order.

Christina Henry is a master storyteller, and Black Wings will hold strong as an upper echelon series for me. These characters and this world stay with me long after the most recent book is finished. If you haven't experienced Black Wings yet, take a chance! Black Spring just reinforced why these books hold a very special place in my heart.

For the rest of today, let's see what Christina had to say when I let her take over the site to talk about Black Spring and the BLACK WINGS series...

AUTHOR AMBUSH BY CHRISTINA HENRY:

The Five Best Things About Writing the BLACK WINGS Series…and
what I’ll miss when it’s gone by Christina Henry:

5) Trying out all of Beezle’s favorite things to eat in
Chicago – like Ann Sather cinnamon rolls or Sensational Bites’ carrot cake – in
the name of research.

4) Taking a bunch of different mythologies, squishing them
up into a ball and making something of my own.

3) Coming up with something new and horrible for Maddy to
defeat in every book. I don’t consider my job done unless she’s covered in soot
and blood.

2) Working with my editor, Danielle Stockley. Danielle has
been with the series from the first page to the last, and now she is leaving
Ace to move on to a different career. She’s always made the books better with
her advice, and more importantly, she’s made the process more fun than it
probably ought to be.

1) Learning how to be a real writer. BLACK WINGS was the
first book I wrote, and it was the first book I sold. Throughout the process of
writing the series I have learned a lot and hopefully gotten better at what I
do. I’ll always be grateful to Maddy and Beezle for helping make my lifelong
dream come true.

Awesome, yes!!?? This book was amazing. This series was amazing. Utterly captivating, really. I am so thrilled I've had a chance to be a part of this journey since day one... THANK YOU Christina!

CONTEST:

This tour is also a HUGE giveaway hop!

- 1 winner will receive a tote from Penguin with all 7 books in the series

- 1 winner will receive a signed SET of all 7 books from Christina Henry PLUS a $25 gift card to Barnes & Noble

- 2 winners will receive a signed SET of all 7 books from Christina Henry

- Giveaway hop will run Oct. 6 to Nov. 7, and we will pick the lucky winners.

To enter, find the Rafflecopter widget for today’s event below on our Author Ambushes page, follow the directions, take action, and mark as ‘Done’.

Hello everyone! Guess who I have back on the site? That's right, Anton Strout!!

Fantasy author Anton Strout was born in the Berkshire Hills mere miles from writing heavyweights Nathaniel Hawthorne and Herman Melville and currently lives in the haunted corn maze that is New Jersey (where nothing paranormal ever really happens, he assures you).

He is the author of the SIMON CANDEROUS and SPELLMASON CHRONICLESUrban Fantasy series for Ace Books, a division of Penguin Group (USA). Anton is also the author of many short tales published in anthologies by DAW Books.

The Once & Future Podcast is his latest project, where he endeavors as Curator of Content to bring authors and readers together through a weekly news show format.

He has been a featured author guest of honor, speaker and workshop leader at San Diego Comic-Con, Gencon, New York Comic-Con, the Brooklyn Book Festival and many other conventions.

In his scant spare time, his is a writer, a sometimes actor, sometimes musician, occasional RPGer, and the world’s most casual and controller smashing video gamer. He currently works in the exciting world of publishing and yes, it is as glamorous as it sounds.

AN OLD FRIEND OF THE FAMILY… Alexandra Belarus is a struggling artist living in New York City, even though her family is rich in real estate, including a towering Gothic Gramercy Park building built by her great-great-grandfather. But the truth of her bloodline is revealed when she is attacked on the street and saved by an inhumanly powerful winged figure. A figure who knows the Belarus name…

Lexi’s great-great-grandfather was a Spellmason—an artisan who could work magic on stone. But in his day, dark forces conspired against him and his, so he left a spell of protection on his family. Now that Lexi is in danger, the spell has awoken her ancestor’s most trusted and fearsome creation: a gargoyle named Stanis.

Lexi and Stanis are equally surprised to find themselves bound to each other. But as they learn to work together, they realize that only united can they save the city they both love…

The adventures of a girl and her gargoyle continue in the second installment of this “thrilling, funny and eerie” fantasy series. —Romantic Times on Alchemystic

Alexandra Belarus, the last practicing Spellmason, doesn’t know what has become of Stanis—her gargoyle protector. Hidden forces are watching her and threatening her, and, now, she’s worried for her stone-hearted friend—who may no longer be so friendly…

When Alexandra Belarus discovered her family’s secret ability to breathe life into stone, she uncovered an entire world of magic hidden within New York City—a world she has accidentally thrown into chaos. A spell gone awry has set thousands of gargoyles loose upon Manhattan, and it’s up to Lexi and her faithful protector, Stanis, to put things right.

But the stress of saving the city is casting a pall over Lexi and Stanis’s relationship, driving them to work separately to solve the problem. As Stanis struggles to unite the gargoyle population, Lexi forges unlikely alliances with witches, alchemists and New York’s Finest to quell an unsettling uprising led by an ancient and deadly foe long thought vanquished.

To save her city, Lexi must wield more power than ever before with the added hope of recovering a mysterious artifact that could change her world—and bring her closer to Stanis than she ever thought possible…

O.K, now that I’ve given you a sneak peek into Anton’s SPELLMASON CHRONICLES and teased you about the upcoming book #3, how about we see what Anton had to say when I let him take over the site for the day...

AUTHOR AMBUSH BY ANTON STROUT

SyFy presents Idealoctopus vs. MechaReality!

By Anton Strout

When I was asked to do this Author Ambush, I was told the
floor was open to anything.Giving an
author free reign can be dangerous, but my first decision was that clearly I
would have to go with my No Pants agenda when writing it, as I have sought to
do for years.Really, it’s how I get all
creative and stuff.But what would I
talk about subject matter wise?! Bacon?Tacos?Maybe bacon tacos!

*drool*

I digress….

I’d short out my computer salivating over them why writing,
so bacon tacos were right out. Nor did I wish to come on here and overly hype
my books.I hate when authors do that.Besides, you Literal Addicts are already some of the smartest people out
there, right?It’s no doubt your
brilliant little selves were savvy enough to have already consumed the Simon
Canderous paranormal detective novels (DEAD TO ME, DEADER STILL, DEAD MATTER,
and DEAD WATERS).The more advanced of
you have been keeping pace and have already polished off the first two
gargoyle-tastic books of The Spellmason Chronicles (ALCHEMYSTIC and STONECAST)
while chomping at the bit for its exciting conclusion INCARNATE, on shelves
now!So shameless pimpage would only be
an insult to your intelligence as well as a cheap and tawdry trick on my
part.Beneath me, really…

But again, I digress…

When I was a boy in the nineteen hundred and eighties, maybe
around age ten or so I knew what I wanted to be: a WRITER.Being just a kid dabbling in storytelling, it
was a big ideological word that had no real meaning to it beyond being A WRITER.I imagined I’d be like Stephen King… books magically
appearing out of thin air and not hard work as I took private planes to book
signings with lines around the block.It
was a grand idea about something I thought I wanted to be without thinking for
a second what I would actually take to get there.

I’d need to write.And rewrite.And learn to write
more betterer.Rinse and repeat. At the
time, that didn’t seem all that unreasonable.Write a book.Tour the world. Simple,
right?

Then reality set in.It always does when you find yourself having super amazing, mind
shattering epiphanies that drive you to action.So I wrote.Some short stories
won awards at the high school level.The
only true worth in that—outside of looking good as a college essay accolade—was
that it encouraged me to write more, and
that time I pushed my personal boundaries to see if I could go novel length
with my words.The proud result was
several hundred pages of totally ripping off the Frank Miller years of writing
Daredevil.Sure, my names were
different, but the heart of that book was 103% Marvel Comics, but again, it had
value.It proved I could write a full novel, which was another step in the right
direction.

Skip ahead, oh, fifteen years or so.I’d dabbled with writing all that time, but I
didn’t take it serious.Not really, but
after finding myself in conversation with other unpublished writer friends we
discovered we were all sick of our
own lassitude.Thus the Dorks of the
Round Table were born.Tearing apart
each other’s work, we all learned through tough love to craft our words into
something readable.And publishable.I’m proud
to say that every member of the DOTRT has been traditionally published.

When my first book DEAD TO ME sold and came out in stores,
clearly I was as close my idealized WRITER self as I thought I could be, right?

Close, but then the publishing landscape shifted.The internet was in a thing now, in full
swing… writer’s suddenly had instant access to their community of readers.It was no longer just enough to be a writer
and write the books.Suddenly there were
many hats that came into play with this new social frontier:

Author. Publicist. Promoter.Blogger. Advertiser. Community engager.

This is not a complaint about taking on those roles, mind
you.I’m happy to have such access to so
many awesome people.The back and forth
is an immeasurable source of guidance and course correction on the great sea of
words I sail upon.

And all of this helps me with my ultimate evil plan:building a race of atomic supermen an
army.

And today, you have to
build an army as an author.People who
are almost—if not more—enthusiastic for your work than you are.The nature of the
what-it-means-to-be-a-writer beast is ever changing.

With more and more time I’ve come to realize that being a
writer is like being a chimera, a mythical hybrid creature that seems to get
more and more heads and body parts as the landscape of writing changes.

I’ve yet to explore the world of self-publishing, but when I
do, it will simply be me adding another head to the writing beast as I let the word
monster continue shambling forth.

Despite all these changes, there has been one constant
through all these phases: you, dear reader.My access to you and people who’ve never tried my flavor of fantasy
writing has increased over the years, but all roads lead me closer to each and
every one of you, and expose my books to people who might never have found them
on the shelves otherwise.

So while this post sadly is not about my precious, delicious
bacon filled tacos, it’s about something at least equally as awesome.This is about you, dear reader.My ten year old self thanks you, for allowing
me to be a writer and for letting me share my madcap gargoyle filled worlds
with you.

Thanks for being the jonesing little book addicts you are.

Best,

Anton

GIVEAWAY:

Anton is offering up some super cool stuff for his tour.

To enter, find the Rafflecopter widget below, follow the directions, take action, and mark as 'Done'.

Good luck, and as always….HAPPY READING!!

*Note: the Rafflecopter widgets aren't Mobile friendly. In order to see and enter the Rafflecopter, you must use a browser. You can use the browser on your Phone or Tablet, however, you'll probably just have to scroll in to see the widget and manipulate it better.

LITERAL ADDICTION is super proud to welcome the wonderful Lisa Beth Darling back to the site today, this time to celebrate the finale of the OF WAR series.

We’ve been a part of Lisa Beth's incredible journey since day one, and it actually feels a little odd to me to be saying good-bye. For any that might have missed our previous Guest Web Appearances with Lisa, feel free to check out our Archive. For now, let me see if I can get you all caught up.

Lisa proudly boasts that her writing career began right around the 7th grade—A fact which her fellow students adored, but which got her called down to the Guidance Counselor’s Office more than once. Not deterred by the counselors, and instead spurred onward by them, Lisa continued to hone her craft throughout those formative years. She currently lives in CT with her husband of 25 years and the memory of raising her 2 adult daughters.

She has won more than 20 awards for her previous works in the Stargate SG-1 and House, MD fandoms, (including the prestigious Blue Moon Awards and White Board Awards), and is not a stranger to successful fiction. Choosing to leave fandom stories behind and return to her roots as an original, hard-hitting author of dark and gritty romance though, she’s back releasing and working on her full length novels.

As I mentioned, Lisa is the proud creator of the OF WAR series, which blends timeless Greek Mythology with Erotica, Romance, and Suspense.

The series is not recommended for the faint of heart, but for those with bold and daring souls. She brings conflict, passion, love, and suspense to unique couples in her full length works. Never one to shy away from the less pleasant things in life, and instead believing it is in the Darkness where Character is created, determined, and defined; her heroes and heroines have their love tested by demons from within, and without.

Lisa has other awesome books available as well, so make sure to check out Lisa’s entire Backlist HERE. She’s also a skilled photographer. Take a gander at her work.

All good so far? For those of you not yet familiar with Lisa’s work, I thought I’d get you all caught up on the OF WAR series and pique some interests...

Inside the heart of every warrior breathes the soul of a hero—even within The Heart of War.

Meet Ares God of War is the greatest Warrior the world has ever known, he’s also moody, grumpy, dominant, ravenously sexual, and above all, built like a Greek God.

Suspected of killing his Daughter in-Law, Psyche, and long in exile from Olympus, the solitude of Ares’ island is interrupted when Magdalena MacLeod a brash and sometimes manipulative Fey washes up on Ares’ island after believing she’s been shipwrecked. There is no wreck and her memory of events is sketchy at best. Branded with a golden chastity belt bearing the mark of Cernunnos, Celtic God of the Forest and Death, Alena has been on the run from the Great Horned God for 200 years. As Ares and Alena grow closer discord erupts on the island as his head woman, Kat, plots to get rid of Alena and the Olympians plot to use her in their endeavor to discover who killed Artemis. Ares will have to choose between his Divinely Dysfunctional Family, his pride, and Alena before dueling to the death with the God of the Forest.

Come along for an epic adventure of erotica, steamy romance, and drama in this Modern Day Greek Tragedy. Battle Ancient Gods and Fall in Love alongside Ares God of War and Alena MacLeod. Theirs is a love that will rock the world from the heights of Olympus to the Celtic moors.

The “Of War”-series picks up in part I of this II-part sequel when Ares and Alena try to settle down on Olympus and await the birth of their son, Raven.

Haunted by prophetic visions along with a body and mind that are starting to betray her, Alena struggles to enjoy what should be a happy and blessed occasion. The relentless hostility from the other Olympians make her yearn to be back on their cozy island home, far away from all the bickering and backstabbing that makes up Life on mighty Mount Olympus.

Knowing of Zeus’ unabashed hatred for Alena and the Celts, Ares becomes convinced Zeus is causing these visions and the breakdown of Alena’s mind. To appease his Father, the God of Gods, Ares enters into a wicked blood pact ensuring the safety of his wife and unborn son. A pact that could cost the God of War everything he holds dear.

However, once the boy arrives, it quickly becomes clear Raven may be the most powerful and cunning Olympian ever born. Outwardly despised by Zeus for his Fey blood and his filthy Celtic mother the seeds of rage and doubt are planted in the Raven’s mind by a very willing Apollo.

As Zeus, Apollo, and Aphrodite plot against the new family, bit by bit the true pasts of the Olympians and Celts comes to light, the battle begins for Ravens’ mind and soul and for the ultimate control of Olympus.

Join Ares, Alena, and Raven as Alena brings Yuletide and Christmas to barren Olympus in this very short holiday-themed story. Those who have not yet read the other books of the series will enjoy this little glimpse into a single day of life on Olympus.

On the verge of manhood, Raven’s rampage continues as he begins the difficult path to Acceptance by his fellow Olympians. Out to prove he’s as good, if not better than, any of them he bests the Trials set before him by Hades and Poseidon. This isn’t enough for him, in his quest to prove to his Father, Ares, that he is an Olympian Raven preys upon the Mortals below Olympus in a time of great weakness. Settling for nothing less than Chaos, he enlists the aid of his Uncle Apollo and pushes the Mortals to pure anarchy when a global financial crisis leaves the entire world destitute, in ruins, and at each other’s throats. Ready to conquer his Trials, take his place at the Counsel Table, and bring Ares the glory Cernunnos once prophesized, only one thing stands in his way; the night his Mother fell down the stairs.

Alena, her body asleep in Ares’ bed for four long years, is lost deep in the clutches of a never-ending dream induced by Morpheus. After years of living an illusion and becoming Morpheus Wife, Alena discovers his deception and struggles to escape her prison. Morpheus has no intentions of ever letting her go. He’ll fight to the death to keep her.

Apollo, ever the Man Behind the Curtain, pulls Raven’s strings like a true puppet master. It’s far too late when Raven realizes all he’s done to please his Father actually makes Ares look guilty of destroying the Mortal World. A little Chaos and a little Anarchy aren’t enough for the Golden God, in his on-going quest to destroy Ares, Apollo sets a plague loose upon the Earth. A bio-chemical weapon stolen from the United States Government at Area 51, known commonly as Major Falls. By the time the Olympians discover what’s going on twenty million people are dead with the number multiplying exponentially every day.

With only one option left to each of them, Raven and Alena turn to their unlikeliest of enemies— Aphrodite and Apollo for help. One night in the bed of the Goddess of Love can be painful but one night in the bed of the Golden God can kill and destroy all that Ares and Alena have built and endured. To ensure that her beloved Husband and her Son are not put to death she may have no other choice.

This story spans four generations of women in Alena’s family from her great-grandmother, Shar Draíocht the last known Queen of the Dark Kingdom. Morrowind, her tortured daughter. Maven, Alena’s free spirited mother. And ends the night Alena washed up on Ares’ shore. With intensity, lust, fear, and strength these Women of War make their way in the world revealing the hidden truths of the past and Ares true connection to his beloved Wife, Alena.

With nearly four billion souls lost to the ravages of anarchy and the dreaded disease Major Falls, Ares and Raven journey the Mortal World vainly reaching for a sliver of what was only to discover what will be. Unleashed by Apollo, Major Falls—a weaponized version of the flu and rabies-- has wiped out every person of watery Mortal Blood.

From the fiery wreckage a new world is slowly arising one where the descendants of Olympians, Celts, Dark Fae, and all manner of Magickal Being will rule. For the last millennium the Dark Kingdom has sent small legions of its Daughters in search of its Lost Queen. Among their number is Lenora, a sharp tongued Dark Fae who joins up with ARES hoping to get close to its leader, Raven. And she does.

The Wolf inside the God of War contracts Major Falls. As Ares and Athena wander the world hoping to curtail further damage by obliterating weapons of mass destruction he slowly succumbs to the sickness taking over his fevered rabid mind. Ares may not live to see the glory of Olympus restored nor fight to keep his Wife. If he does, how high will be the price for Ares' life? How long will Alena have to keep paying Apollo even once Ares is crowned King of Olympus?

Our Review, by LITERAL ADDICTION's Pack Alpha - Chelle:

--Actual rating 4.5 Skulls

An absolutely thrilling finale to the uber dark, dangerous, and wickedly sexy series that has had me hooked from book #1! If anyone would have told me a couple years ago that I'd find a series that was mythology, horror, PNR and erotica in one I would have laughed. That was until I read the first installment of OF WAR and begged to know what would happen next. :)

Lisa Beth has taken us through the gamut of emotions for almost every character in this series - from absolutely hating them, to desperately wanting them to redeem themselves, to loving them and then having our eyes opened to the truth, to tolerating them and then finding out there is oh so much more under the surface, to loving them throughout, and she rounds things out extra beautifully in Kingdoms of War, delivering a most epic finale to a series that is unlike any other and one that will stay with you long, long after it's been read.

If you love mythology and your romances extra dark, then you simply must check out this series!

Adult EXCERPT:

In
one swiftly flowing motion, Ares pulled her out from behind him to settle her
crosswise on his lap like a girl telling Santa what she wanted for
Christmas. She wasn't a little girl and
Ares was fully aware he was not Santa Claus.
"I love you," he confessed as he looped one arm around her
slender waist. "I will never let
you go." In his arms she smiled at
him as her eyes filled with sparkles, making his heart a little lighter. "Never."

Bringing
the strong hand in her hair to her mouth she brushed a lingered kiss over the
back while she turned around inside his hold until her naked body faced him
with each of her legs wrapped around his taut waist. Their lovemaking earlier tonight had been
extraordinarily athletic and lengthy, she wasn't sure that she was up for
another round and he wasn't, not yet anyway, although the first stirrings of
life were twitching against the soft moistening place between her legs. Wrapping her hands around his neck and
grabbing up tufts of his midnight hair she sighed in a sultry whisper, "Do
you know how much it turns me on when you say that?"

Grabbing
one firm round cheek in the palm of each hand, Ares stood up, bolted to the
nearest wall, and planted her back up against it so roughly she let out a cry
of painful delight. Ares had just enough
time to feel her yank his hair hard before her hands fell to his shoulders
where he grabbed them up faster than lightning to pin them to the rock wall
high above her head between two fingers.
"I know how much you like this." His cock did more than just twitch when she
shuddered and let out a heated coo; it threatened to explode open as it rushed
to full hardness bringing with it a wild wave of desire. Holding her hands firm and keeping her seated
in the palm of one large hand, his mouth moved in to cover the sweet spot just
below her left ear. Sucking hard on the
tender flesh and giving it a meaningful yank with his sharp teeth released
gasps of pleasure from her. Yet, wanting
him to master her, Alena fought against the rising tide of desire as she tried
to free her hands, straining and pulling within the ring of his fingers until
she worked up a sweat and started sliding free.
Without stopping his work, Ares lifted her hands away from the wall and
brought them back to the rock with a good deal of force. Pinned between the unforgiving muscles of his
electrified body and the unforgiving rock of the cave wall, Alena gasped and
quivered against him sending shock waves of wanton passion exploding outward
from the pit of his tight abs down to the hungry creature howling for another
meal and upward through his heart, making it quicken on its way to his head
where it dazzled him in a brilliant display of pulsing color and tingling
sensation. Soon the intoxicating scent
of wild honeysuckle and the primal aroma of the musk between her legs filled
his flaring nostrils and made him begin to growl.

So…. Did I do my job? Are you all intrigued and frantically adding the books to your TBR lists? You really need to. This series became an instant favorite of mine. If you like mythology and erotica, OF WAR is perfect for you. It’s not for the faint of heart… Lisa doesn’t hold back on the violence, the grit, the eroticism, any of it…but if you want a series you can just fall into and be utterly and completely gripped, ripped, twisted and wowed without being babied, then most definitely check them out! :)

So now, let's see what Lisa Beth had to say about this whole thing coming full circle...

AUTHOR AMBUSH BY LISA BETH DARLING:

Inside the Heart of every Warrior breathes the Soul of a
Hero--even within The Heart of War

That's right, warriors need love too and Ares God of War is
no different although he used to like to think he was until Maggie MacLeod came
along and turned his world upside down in The Heart of War
book #1 in the OF WAR Series of highly dark and adult romances.

It hardly seems like that was four years ago that our hero
the grumpy, broody, and often intimidating God of War found a Fey washed up on
the shore of his secluded isle.Of
course, being the arrogant god that he is the very first thing he did was
change her name to Alena. Not that she minded, with the new name came a new
woman one with renewed passion.

In all of that time our hero and heroine have been through
many trials and tribulations as they struggled to build a family and life for
themselves away from the divinely dysfunctional Olympians. Who can ever forget Raven's harrowing birth
or blood oath demanded of Ares by Zeus in Child of War-A God is
Born?
Not to mention Raven forcing his pregnant mother down a very long set of
marble stairs.

Of course there was the time that Raven inadvertently helped
to destroy the world in Child of War-Rising Son.
It wasn't all his fault, growing up Olympian ain't easy especially not when
everyone absolutely hates you. With an Uncle like Apollo nobody needs enemies.

In Women
of War we looked back on Maggie's heritage from her great grandmother
SharDraíocht the Last Queen of the Dark Kingdom to her mother the wild and
wanton Maven. We discovered the
secret connection between Alena and her beloved Ares.

Now as we close out the OF WAR Series with Kingdoms of War
it's time to find out if Ares and Alena will have their Happily Ever After or
they will forever be separated by the Gods and their unruly Son. I hope you'll
join me for this explosive finale.

Top 10

Best Things About Writing the OF WAR Series

Before we start I should say I really just want to type
‘Ares’ ten times because he is the absolute best thing about this series and
I’m thrilled to have worked with him so long. I’m looking forward to continuing
that relationship in the future even though this series has reached its end.

1.
Research-I love Greek Mythology so doing
research for this series was a pure joy which usually it sooo is not!

2.
Battle scenes—I hate writing them but this
series forced me to work onthat and to
strengthen that weakness

3.
Love scenes—I don’t think we need an explanation
here

4.
Drama—I love drama, ok wait, no, I don’t love
drama IN my life but I adore it in my writing or a movie or a TV show or a
book. There’s no shortage of it in this series.

5.
Backstabbing—the Olympians are one Divinely
Dysfunctional Family whereas, growing up, my own family was so normal they were
pretty boring. I loved being able to just be mean and wicked in so many spots.

6.
Suspense—this series is more of a serial so I’ve
gotten to do a couple of truly breathtaking cliff hanger endings. Some people
hate them and others love them. I love them. They harken back to one of my
favorite stories of all-time “The Green Mile” which came out in installments
originally, one a month, and I RAN to bookstore every month to get the next
one!

7.
Raven—the Son of Ares God of War and Alena
MacLeod. He’s going to stay with me for a very long time to come. Crafting him
watching him grow up and dealing with ‘the teen years’ on an Olympian Scale was
definitely a lot of fun even if we did kill off 90% of the world’s population.
As we bring this series to a close with “Kingdoms of War” watching him become a
man has been very rewarding.

8.
Alena—Ares’ beloved Wife. She’s a kickass
heroine with a mind—and maybe even an agenda—of her own. The best thing about
her is she’s no young chickie. She’s an older woman with life experience and
she’s no one’s fool. I think she proves to a lot of people that life doesn’t
end at 30 in fact it’s just beginning to get interesting.

9.
Rose-the Daughter of Ares and Alena who shows us
all that even though we may be small and completely imperfect we are still
strong.

To enter, find the Rafflecopter widget below, follow the directions, take action, and mark as ‘Done’.

Good luck, and as always… HAPPY READING! :)

*Note: the Rafflecopter widgets aren't Mobile friendly. In order to see and enter the Rafflecopter, you must use a browser. You can use the browser on your Phone or Tablet, however, you'll probably just have to scroll in to see the widget and manipulate it better.